


Split Personality- a Mad Ducktor 2020 fic

by Michael_Demos



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 1987), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 4,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_Demos/pseuds/Michael_Demos
Summary: When Dr. Gearloose gets caught in the explosion of a cloning ray, his long-buried alter ego, the Mad Ducktor, emerges.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Donald Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Scrooge McDuck & Webby Vanderquack, Gyro Gearloose & Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, Gyro Gearloose/Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, Mad Ducktor & Dr. Gearloose, Mad Ducktor & Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera
Comments: 34
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you @Kerriberri for the title!

“Dr. Gearloose?”

Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera poked his head into the lab, scanning the area for his coworker. “Hello?” The lights were dimmed and flickering in every room but one, where a bright light glowed. “Dr. Gearloose, are you in here?”

As he approached the room, he heard angry muttering from the chicken. “Stupid… infernal machine… teach  _ you _ to blow up-“

Blowing up? That was relatively normal in the lab, but Fenton’s hero instincts were kicking in. He entered the room.

“Oh, there you are!”

_ Clang _

“Ow,  _ phooey!!” _

The chicken emerged from underneath what looked like a cross between a large space gun and a microscope, rubbing his head. He glared.  _ “What  _ are you doing, Cabrera?”

“Sorry, Dr. Gearloose,” the duck apologized, “but I wanted to give you this.” He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a red envelope. “It’s for a charity ball- I wouldn’t normally go, but last week you mentioned how you didn’t dance very often because you never had anyone to dance with, so I thought we could go together. As friends.”

“Friends?” Dr. Gearloose sighed, getting to his feet. “Cabrera, we’re not friends. I don’t  _ have  _ friends-“

“You have Lil’ Bulb,” interjected Fenton, earning a sharp glance.

“He’s my son, or as much a son as a non-organic individual can be, which actually is quite a lot of son,” the chicken replied, “and anyway, I don’t have time.”

“For friends or the ball?”

“Either,” Dr. Gearloose said dismissively. “Take your pick.” He turned back to the machine.

“Who do you think I should ask, then?” Fenton said, half joking.

“I don’t know, Cabrera,” exclaimed Dr. Gearloose. “Ask Manny!!  _ He _ went to that party thing with the Duck kids a few months ago!” He slammed a fist down on the machine in exasperation. Something sparked.

Both pairs of eyes went wide with realization, and then Dr. Gearloose whirled around and tackled Fenton, knocking the duck to the floor- just as the machine exploded.

Fenton felt a blast of heat, and then the weight on his back lifted. He lifted his gaze to see his coworker hit the wall and slide down.  _ “No!!”  _ Disregarding the bits of metal peppering his back, he got up and sprinted towards the chicken. “Blathering blatherskite!”

The pieces of the suit swirled around him, and as he wrapped his arms around Dr. Gearloose to protect him, he was jolted from behind by a larger chunk of machinery. It was large enough to knock him out.

He woke up tied to a chair.


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s about time,” a familiar voice said scornfully.

Fenton lifted his head, wincing at both a bright light and the pain in his head. “Ouch- what..?”

“You’ve got a thick skull, Fenton,” the voice continued, “and I thought you’d wake up sooner!”

Fenton glanced around, confused. He was stationed in the middle of the storage closet- despite containing several inventions that weren’t currently in use, it was pretty spacious. The owner of the voice was standing in the shadows, but Fenton could see dark green shoes and the bottom of a pair of lighter green pants. Whoever-it-was held a lamp, the source of the light, which was being shone in his face. Glancing down, Fenton found that he was secured to a chair with thick ropes- and without the Gizmosuit. Alarmed, he twisted and turned, trying to free himself, but only succeeded in toppling over backwards. “Blathering blatherskite,” he cried out, and waited.

Nothing happened.

_ “Blathering blatherskite,” _ he tried again, louder this time.

The person in the shadows laughed, tossing the lamp aside and striding forward. He placed his foot on the chair, looking over Fenton. “I took the liberty of dismantling and deactivating your armor,” he said, and the lamp illuminated his features.

A shock of pale blue hair, sticking out in all directions.

A dark blue vest.

A lime green bow tie, fastened onto a bright red button-up shirt with the collar turned up-

-and a horrifyingly familiar face, now sneering at him.

“Dr.  _ Gearloose?!” _

“Not anymore, Fenton,” the chicken cackled. “Call me the  _ Mad Ducktor!!” _


	3. Chapter 3

“Of  _ course _ he didn’t bother to stock the minifridge with any muffins,” grumbled the Ducktor, re-entering the room with a plate of donuts in hand. “I had to be his opposite in  _ every  _ way, including taste in food!” He turned to scowl at Fenton. “I don’t suppose  _ you  _ have any muffins?”

Unable to speak through the gag the Mad Ducktor had put on him, Fenton just glared. He’d been set back upright, at least, which meant he had a clear view of his captor’s return. Dr. Gearloose- the Mad Ducktor- had just raided the minifridge in the other room.

“Oh well,” continued the Ducktor, tossing aside the plate. It shattered and the donuts were scattered. “Down to business!” He seized Fenton’s collar and lifted, dragging him sharply up to his eye level. “You, my friend, are  _ very  _ annoying. Did you know that?”

Fenton only struggled harder, but to no avail.

The Ducktor shrugged, dropping Fenton roughly on the floor. “While Gyro doesn’t find you annoying anymore- he actually  _ cares _ about you, imagine that- he is still me, and I am him, and  _ I  _ find you annoying.” He smiled, bending at the waist to look over the duck. “I remember how Gyro used to deal with annoyances. That was fun, let’s do that again!” He reached into his back pocket and produced a small shard of glass, presumably from the machine. “I’m going to enjoy-“

Fenton’s phone rang.

Grumbling, the Ducktor approached and pulled the device from Fenton’s pocket. His irritated expression turned to delight, and he flipped the phone around to show Fenton the caller ID.

“Huey Duck,” it read, and Fenton’s eyes went wide. He shook his head wildly, yelling through the cloth covering his beak.

The Mad Ducktor answered the phone, giving Fenton a sinister grin. “Yes?”

_ “Hey Fenton- wait, Dr. Gearloose?” _ Huey said, his voice barely audible through the phone.

“Ahh, the… red triplet,” the Ducktor replied. “What do you want?”

_ “I was going to ask Fenton if he wanted to take Boyd on a flight trip today,”  _ the duckling continued.  _ “Where is he?” _

“Oh, he can’t come to the phone right now,” the Ducktor said innocently. “He’s a little… tied up at the moment.”

Huey paused.  _ “Well, when he’s not busy, can he come see Boyd?” _

“Sure, sure,” the Ducktor said lazily.

_ “In the meantime,”  _ Huey continued,  _ “I need you to take a look at my computer for me.” _

“...why?”

_ “One of the bullies at Junior Woodchuck camp dropped it into a puddle, and nothing I do will make it turn on.” _

“Well then,” the Ducktor replied, “you can absolutely come down here.”

Panicked, Fenton wiggled and wiggled, and the gag finally slipped off. “Huey,” he yelled, “don’t listen to him!! He’s gone insane, he’s-  _ oof!” _

His breath was driven out of him by the Mad Ducktor’s well-place fist, cutting off his sentence.

_ “Fenton?”  _ Huey asked, sounding alarmed.  _ “Dr. Gearloose, is everything okay?” _

“Everything,” the Ducktor replied, tucking the phone between his shoulder and ear, “is just  _ peachy.” _ He hung up and threw the device at the floor. It cracked, and Fenton’s heart sank.

“You,” the Ducktor growled, seizing Fenton by the beak, “are getting on my last nerve.” He shoved the duck away sharply, and exited the room. He returned almost immediately with a syringe and more rope.

Ignoring Fenton’s squirms, the mad scientist jabbed the needle into his arm and depressed the plunger. “That’ll keep you tame,” he explained. He then tied the rope around Fenton’s beak, forcing it closed. 

Fenton’s head began to swim, and his thoughts began to cloud. He had been sedated, he realized groggily as his eyes began to close.

“I’m going to go deal with our  _ guest _ . _ ” _


	4. Chapter 4

**Huey:**

“Fenton?” Huey called out, entering the dimly lit lab. Behind him, Webby clutched her machete. (He’d said she didn’t  _ need _ to bring it, but Webby had countered with, “if Fenton sounded  _ that  _ panicked, and Dr. Gearloose hung up  _ that  _ quickly, they must be in trouble!”)

“Dr. Gearloose?” Huey called. “Are you two in here?”

“Is everything okay?” Webby added, her voice cutting through the silence. “Dr. Gearloose? Fenton?”

No answer.

“Hello?” Getting nervous despite himself, Huey removed his guidebook from underneath his hat and gripped it tightly. “Fenton-“

“-isn’t here right now,” a voice said from behind them. They jumped, turning to see Dr. Gearloose.

“Oh,” Webby sighed, pressing a hand to her chest in relief, “it’s just you. You scared us!”

Glancing at his friend, Huey looked at the chicken. “What happened to your hair?”

The lab-coat-wearing scientist glanced up at his blue hair. “A little… lab accident,” he said with a chuckle. “Now, why were you here again?”

“My computer?” Huey said, producing the device. Dr. Gearloose took it. “Is Fenton okay?” Huey continued. “Over the phone, he sounded a little-“

“Panicked? Worried? Terrified?” Webby prompted.

“-stressed,” Huey decided.

Dr. Gearloose’s expression twitched, then he grinned. “Absolutely nothing is wrong,” he told Huey. “Didn’t I say that already?”

Webby looked doubtful. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” the chicken said cheerfully.

Webby pulled Huey aside. “Something’s wrong,” she whispered. “Dr. Gearloose is  _ never _ this happy!”

Huey glanced over- the scientist was watching their every move. “He looks… like he’s scheming,” he realized.

“Really?”

Huey nodded. “If you live with an evil triplet for ten years you start to pick up clues, like facial expressions and body language. If I saw that look on Louie, I’d run the other way.”

“Are you hiding anything, Dr. Gearloose?” Webby asked suddenly.

The chicken blinked, caught off guard. “I- what? No. Of course not.”

Webby narrowed her eyes. “Where’s Fenton?”

“He’s busy,” Dr. Gearloose told her.

Huey frowned. “Webby, you can’t think that he’s hiding Fenton somewhere!”

Ignoring him, Webby approached the scientist. “Busy where?”

“It’s top secret,” snapped the scientist. “Stop asking!”

Huey joined in. Maybe Dr. Gearloose wasn’t hiding Fenton, but he was definitely hiding something. “When was the last time you saw Fenton?”

“What are you trying to hide?”

“Why is the lab so dim?”

“Why are you wearing a lab coat?”

“What did you do with Fenton?!” Enraged, Webby hurled herself at the chicken. He blocked the attack easily, but stumbled backwards and collided with his desk. He grabbed a black box from the desktop and pressed a button on the side. It started crackling with electricity, and Huey gasped. Thinking fast, he threw his guidebook. It hit Dr. Gearloose in the forehead and he crumpled.

Webby cheered. “That’ll teach you to mess with our friend- now come on, Huey, we gotta find Fenton!!”

“Ohhh,” the duckling moaned, retrieving the book, “we attacked Uncle Scrooge’s head scientist, we’re gonna be in so much trouble!”

He joined Webby in searching the lab for any place someone could hide a possibly kidnapped duck. Eventually Webby pointed out a bookshelf that had been in a different place last time they’d visited.

“That’s not supposed to be there,” Huey commented.

“Huey, I think there’s something behind it!” Webby moved to one end of the bookshelf. “I’ll push and you pull!” Huey nodded, running to the other side. Together they managed to move the heavy shelf away from a door, previously hidden by the books.

Webby reached into her hair and produced a Swiss Army knife, and began to pick the lock.

“Do you really think we’ll find anything?” Huey asked nervously.

“We’re about to find out,” Webby replied, and the door swung open.

“Ohmygosh,  _ Fenton!!” _


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently people like this! 😁

**(thank you[Parkyparks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkyparks))**

**Fenton:**

“Fenton, wake up,” a voice pleaded.

Fenton groaned, eyes fluttering open. His mouth tasted like cotton. He glanced up to see Huey and his friend Webby hovering over him, looking worried.

“...Huey?” Fenton muttered, blinking slowly. He sat upright, shaking himself, then gazed down at the remains of the ropes. From the looks of it, Webby had sliced them away with- was that a machete? “How…”

“Dr. Gearloose hid you in the storage room-“ began Huey.

“-but then Huey knocked him out and we came and found you,” Webby finished excitedly. “Now we can find out what happened to him!”

“I think I already know,” Fenton told them.

The ducklings listened as Fenton told them about the mysterious machine that had exploded a few hours ago. “I think that’s what triggered such a dramatic change,” he finished.

“Can we change him back?” Webby asked.

“I certainly hope so,” Fenton replied, glancing up. “In the meantime, let’s deal with this Mad Ducktor person.” He stood, unsteadily at first, then stood taller as his strength returned. They walked out.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Huey remarked. The main part of the lab was empty. The lights flickered above them as Huey looked around, worried. “If he’s not in his right mind,” he said, “he could be dangerous to himself as well as others.”

“Red triplet- violent triplet- _what_ are you doing here?”

The duck gasped, whirling around. Dr. Gearloose stood there, hair and clothes back to normal, with a bewildered expression on his face.

Fenton acted instinctively. Shoving Huey and Webby behind him, he threw his fist forward forcefully.

_Pow!_

“Gah!”

_Thud_

Dr. Gearloose laid on the floor holding his beak. He glared at them. “Cabrera, what the _hell?!”_


	6. Chapter 6

[(Thank you DigiKate813)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiKate813)

  
“Dr… Dr. Gearloose?” Fenton asked hesitantly, keeping himself between the chicken and the kids. “Are you… you?”

“Am I me?” The scientist got to his feet, gingerly touching his beak. “Am I _me?!_ Tell me, Cabrera, who else would I be?!”

“That Mad Ducktor?” Webby spoke up.

Dr. Gearloose stumbled backwards, the anger melting off of his face. “...what did you say?”

“The Mad Ducktor- wait, Dr. Gearloose,” Huey asked, “has this happened before?”

Dr. Gearloose looked away, his expression haunted. “He’s my alter ego,” he said quietly. “Several years ago, I had just been hired by your uncle, and built an ego ray. I was trying to impress Mr. McDuck. I wasn’t aware of the… of the consequences.” He lowered his hands and gripped his arms tightly. “The Ducktor nearly killed him, and Donald and Della, and _me,_ before we were finally able to reverse the effects of the ray.”

He took a shaky breath, and Fenton glanced at Huey and Webby. “Dr. Gearloose, that machine that exploded earlier-“

“Of course it wasn’t the same machine,” the chicken snapped. “I’m not an idiot! That was a cloning ray, but evidently some trace of the Ducktor still remained, allowing the ray to bring the Ducktor back.”

With a jolt, Fenton realized that Dr. Gearloose looked scared. This Mad Ducktor person- or persona- must have been awful if Dr. Gearloose was afraid.

“Okay,” he said with a nod. “What do we do?”

“Firstly,” Dr. Gearloose said, raising a finger authoritatively, “we collect as many muffins as we can.”

“Muffins?” Huey asked, confused. “Dr. Gearloose, your alter ego _kidnapped_ Fenton and lied about it! How are muffins going to help?!”

Dr. Gearloose glared. “Don’t question me, there’s no time! This man is _dangerous,_ do you understand me?! He’s not like the common crooks Gizmoduck faces, _he will hurt you!!”_

Huey fell silent.

“We want to help,” Webby spoke up. _“Let_ us help!”

“Don’t you get it?” The chicken sighed. “You’re going to get hurt if I let you anywhere near him, and I don’t want- I _can’t-_ risk that! Fenton could have gotten killed, and you two are just children!”

“Dr. Gearloose,” Fenton began, “with all due respect, I came out of that situation perfectly fine. Besides, Huey’s resourceful, and from what he tells me, Webby has impressive survival and combat skills.”

Dr. Gearloose gritted his teeth, then glanced at the kids. “Out. Now.”

“But-“

_“Now!!”_

Huey and Webby hastily retreated to the kitchen. Dr. Gearloose rounded on Fenton. _“This_ is why I don’t have time for friends! Because something happens, something _always_ happens, someone will betray you or mysteriously vanish or get _stabbed_ _by your alter ego_ and there’s nothing you can do about it!!” He stopped, breathing hard, and looked at the floor with his hands clenched into fists. “Friends… just aren’t worth the trouble.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Webby:**

She’d heard most of Dr. Gearloose’s rant. She felt sorry for him. Getting betrayed, having someone vanish- wait.

She started muttering under her breath. “Huey said Boyd nearly destroyed a city… and Della disappeared for ten years…”

Who else had he mentioned? Donald.

Oh no.

She glanced at her friend. By the horrified look on his face, he’d come to the same conclusion. “Huey-“

“We have to help,” he said suddenly. “If this Mad Ducktor person’s really back, he might go after Mom and Uncle Donald again. I don’t care what Dr. Gearloose says- he can’t risk us getting hurt? Well, we can’t risk our  _ family  _ getting hurt!”

Webby blinked. That had been exactly what  _ she’d  _ been about to say. She smiled, holding out a hand. “Ready for Operation: Protect Our Family No Matter What?”

Huey shrugged, then returned the smile. “Eh, capital-O-operations like that are usually more Dewey’s thing, but if it’s for our family-“ he took her hand and shook it. “-I’m in!”

* * *

**Dr. Gearloose:**

Fenton was staring at him. Was that pity on his face? He hated it. “What now?” Gyro snapped. “Do I have something on my beak?!”

“No, I-“

“I think it’s time for you to go home, Cabrera,” he said, forcing as much icy anger into his voice as possible.

Fenton flinched. “But-“

“Take the children with you,” Gyro added, “and  _ go home.” _

Fenton apparently decided it was best not to argue, and nodded once. “Understood, Dr. Gearloose.” He walked away in the direction of the kitchen. “Huey, Webby, we should probably get you back to the mansion before your uncle and  _ abuela _ start worrying.”

An instant protest hit Gyro’s ears, and he turned away.

* * *

Later that night, Gyro was alone. He’d ushered Manny out the door, then locked it behind the man-horse. He didn’t want to be disturbed at all- partly because of what he’d said to Fenton earlier, and partly because if the duck knew what he was planning, he’d likely try to stop him.

Gyro knew what he was doing was dangerous, but he’d done it before, right? The last time the Ducktor had appeared, they’d defeated him by using an energy ray to remove the negative energy altogether- although that had proved to be only a temporary solution.

This device would do the same- but it was stationary, and hopefully far stronger. This, he was 92.8 percent sure, would remove the Mad Ducktor permanently.

He stepped up onto the platform, checking the angle of the ray, then tapped at the screen strapped to his wrist. “Okay, that’s calibrated…” he muttered. “Adjusting for new conditions… power at 100, turning up to 150…”

When his modifications were complete, the chicken nodded to Lil’ Bulb, who stood on a larger control panel nearby. The small robot saluted, then pulled a switch.

Electricity surged through the ray and into Gyro, and he let out a shriek. He’d forgotten how much this  _ hurt! _ (Which might have been because it was  _ him _ getting blasted this time, instead of the Mad Ducktor.) It was fine, though, everything was fine, because after the energy dissipated his evil alter ego would be gone.

There was only one problem- it wasn’t dissipating.


	8. Chapter 8

The pain faded, replaced by a low throbbing, and Gyro stood frozen in the beam. He glanced over at Lil’ Bulb, who shrugged and went to turn it off. When the switch didn’t move, the miniature robot yanked harder-

_ Snap _

-and it broke.

The beam went crazy, shooting out bursts of lightning every which way. Lil’ Bulb ran for cover as the bursts sped up, turning into pulses and then flashes and then-

It exploded.

Gyro slowly sat up, rubbing his head. His ears were ringing, his body was sore, and as he opened his eyes, he found that his vision was blurry.

Although that last one might have been that his glasses had been blown off.

He felt around, finally finding the elusive eyeglasses, and placed them on his beak. He got to his feet, looking around his messy lab- and fell back down with a shriek.

“What’s the matter, Gyro?” The person across form him said with a sneer. “Scared?”

No.

(He  _ was _ scared.)

_ No. _

(He was  _ very _ scared.)

It couldn’t be; he’d been defeated over ten years ago! Somehow, though, that person was getting to his feet and advancing.

Gyro scooted backwards, only stopping when his back hit the wall. “You.” It wasn’t a question; there was no doubt of who the person was now.

“Me,” the Mad Ducktor exclaimed gleefully, spreading his arms wide.

* * *

**Mad Ducktor:**

He glanced down at himself, and his smile was replaced by a scowl. “Of course,” he sighed, “I forgot about your horrible taste in clothing all those years ago. Blue? Really? I mean, you could have gone with any other color, and you decided to dye our hair  _ blue?” _ He tugged at his hair, eyeing his clothes with distaste. “Well, I can fix that after I deal with you- hey, get back here!!”

While he’d been talking, the chicken on the floor had taken the opportunity to bolt for the elevator.

“Oh no you don’t!” The Ducktor snarled, lunging for the lockdown button on the wall. He had the satisfaction of watching his double slam into the steel than had just covered the door. “I’m not through with you,  _ Gyro- _ not even close!”

* * *

**Dr. Gearloose:**

He’d hit his beak in the exact spot where Fenton had punched him- damn his luck- and tumbled backwards, landing on the floor again. Glancing up, he saw his “evil twin” looming over him. “Gyro, Gyro, Gyro,” the Ducktor scolded, “you can’t escape me. I know your every move!”

Gyro rolled to the side as the Ducktor’s foot came down, knocking his hat off. “Override lockdown,” he cried.

_ “Override denied,”  _ the computer told him.

“Override denial,” he tried.

_ “Override denied,”  _ the computer replied.

He scrambled to his feet and ran as the Ducktor attacked again, barely managing to avoid a kick. He briefly considered summoning Gizmoduck, then dismissed it. After he’d yelled at Fenton, then kicked him out of the lab, calling for help was not an option.

“You’ve noticed,” the Ducktor called from behind him, “that you can’t exit the lab. I told you that I know your every move, because I  _ am  _ you, Gyro.”

“If you’re me,” Gyro retorted, ducking behind his desk, “then we have the same weaknesses!”

“Hmm,” came the reply, “perhaps I’m wrong, then- I’m you, as you were then. You were different, Gyro, and we’re different now- but I’m still smarter-  _ boo!” _

Gyro shrieked in surprise as the Mad Ducktor popped up beside him. “Get away from me!!”

“Well, if that’s what you want,” said his double, withdrawing, “but that’s what you like, isn’t it? You’re alone, with nobody to depend on but yourself. No family, no friends- what was that you said?  _ I don’t have time for friends?”  _ The Ducktor laughed. “There’s nobody to save you, Gyro. Nobody at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned to find out what happened to Lil’ Bulb!


	9. Chapter 9

**Lil’ Bulb:**

Lil’ Bulb was alive and unharmed- if a little worried about his father- and had managed to escape the lab before the lockdown was initiated. Now he couldn’t get back in, and Gyro couldn’t get out. He knew that Gyro wouldn’t call for help easily, but he also knew that, like it or not, Gyro needed it. He sprinted out of the Bin as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Duckburg was a large city, and even bigger to Lil’ Bulb- he was only a foot tall, after all- but he couldn’t let that stop him. He didn’t remember much about the Mad Ducktor, but what little memories remained from his predecessor Little Helper told him that the Ducktor was dangerous. He’d locked up Little Helper, impersonated Dr. Gearloose, and tried to kill Scrooge McDuck and his niece and nephew. He had to be stopped.

He narrowly avoided being stepped on by pedestrians who didn’t notice him, and nearly got run over three times before finally making it to the base of Killmotor Hill. Once he reached the top and stood before the manor, he was faced with the question of who to ask for help.

The obvious first choice was Scrooge McDuck himself, but as the big red plane was missing from the side yard, it was unlikely that he was home. That eliminated Della and possibly Donald, but what about the nephews?

He’d met them before- Huey, and Louie, and Dewey- although that last one was through a network of other Bulbs during the Shadow War. From what he knew about them, he decided that Dewey, as well as the pink one- Webby- would have gone with their uncle and mother, as well as Huey. That left Louie, and even that was uncertain.

Entering the mansion was easy, though, as was finding Louie. The green-clothed triplet was sitting alone in the living room, holding a can of something called Pep and gazing at the tv. Whatever he was watching involved two large roosters and a short, cushioned stool.

Lil’ Bulb climbed up on the arm of the couch, tugging at Louie’s sleeve to get his attention. When the duckling looked over, the robot waved.

“Oh,” Louie said, bored, “it’s you.”

* * *

Lil’ Bulb explained the situation. Louie didn’t seem fazed. “Eh, Huey told me already,” he said.

Lil’ Bulb tilted his head.

“Well, he said not to trust Dr. Gearloose,” elaborated the triplet, “something about a clone ray and a dark past and ehhhhh… I lost interest. I don’t trust anyone, though,” he added with a shrug. “Huey’s at some dumb Junior Woodchuck meeting, and Webby and Dewey both are exploring Rattaca with Uncle Scrooge and Mom and Uncle Donald-“

[ ? ]

“Eh, some kingdom of rats,” Louie said offhandedly. “Last time we were there they asked us to find their legendary Wheel of Gold. It was cheese. So I stayed behind today.”

[ >:( ]

Perhaps noticing Lil’ Bulb’s annoyance, the duckling sighed. “Right. Gotta deal with whatever dangerous, life-threatening mess Dr. Gearloose’s gotten himself into this time.” He paused. “Actually, you know, he owes me for that time one of his inventions tried to kill me- oh wait, that was you, wasn’t it?”

[ ... ] Lil’ Bulb’s bulb flared red, then he shook his head. _I won’t get much help here_ , he thought, jumping down from the couch. Time to go find Huey.

* * *

The robot located Huey in the library- the meeting must have ended- poring over a thick book with a hummingbird he vaguely recognized from the Shadow War- Violet, was it?

[ !!! ] He communicated, humming loudly.

They looked up, and Huey waved. “Hey, Lil’ Bulb,” he said. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay with Dr. Gearloose?”

[ O^O ] He overexaggerated his panic, and it seemed to work.

Huey stood, alarmed. “Violet, come on,” he said. “Dr. Gearloose needs our help!!”

“Agreed,” she said, setting the book aside. “Perhaps you should contact Fenton as well.”

“Already on it,” the red-clothed duckling responded, pulling a cell phone from under his hat. “Fenton? Huey here; Dr. Gearloose is in trouble! Can you meet us at the Bin?”

* * *

The four of them entered the Bin, descending to the basement level with no problem, but then encountered a thick wall of steel covering the entrance to the lab. “Why is the laboratory under lockdown?” Violet asked.

Lil’ Bulb scowled, crossing his arms.

“Dr. Gearloose must have activated it to trap the Mad Ducktor inside,” Huey guessed.

Lil’ Bulb had explained what had happened before he’d escaped, including the explosion that divided Gyro and the Ducktor into two separate bodies.

Violet shook her head. “Unlikely,” she told him. “Unfortunate as it is, this ‘Mad Ducktor’ persona, if he is truly as bad as you say, most likely activated the lockdown to imprison Dr. Gearloose within.”

Lil’ Bulb, perched upon Fenton’s shoulder, nodded. [ >:( !!! ]

“Lil’ Bulb’s right,” Fenton added. “From what I saw of him, he’s mean, and cruel, and as smart as Dr. Gearloose. If they’re in there together, we need to figure out a way to get inside before-“

The steel slid upward with a hiss, revealing the door to the lab. The group stood in silence, then Violet tentatively reached out and pushed at the wood. It swung open easily, revealing the Mad Ducktor standing there with a bored look on his face.

“Finally,” he said, running his fingers through his now-purple hair. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”


End file.
